Busy Weekend

It's a good thing we soaked up some sun before the weekend. The boys LOVE being out on the balcony and are very good about not going out without someone with them. They don't even mind sharing a chair as long as they can be outside.

We had company here at the hotel this weekend. On Friday, our friend Amy came to visit from Houston and on Saturday, Teta (Grandma) came to visit. ALL the boys wanted to do was play with her iPhone, iPad, or iPod. It is scary how addicted they are, even though they are a little too rough to hold it themselves. Even after we put them away, they had a hard time focusing to play some of their favorite games including Go Fish! Malek was full of love for Teta and he kept telling her that he loved her and that he liked her purse, shoes, shirt, etc.

Games from morning until night...

Bubble Maker Machine

When we checked in to the hotel, we discovered that there was a jacuzzi tub in the suite. The very first night, I put a few table spoons of tear free shampoo in the water as it filled, turned on the jets and let the bubble fill to the top. THEN I let the boys see it. They went CRAZY with excitement, climbing in and out and trying to swim through the tub that was more bubbles than water. The bubbles lasted longer than they did in the tub. Instead of calling it a jacuzzi tub or a bath tub, they named it 'The Bubble Maker Machine'.

Oh, and of COURSE they had to have bubble beards.

I turned the tub on one more time to make a few extra bubbles. Zayne didn't like the noise and climbed out, Malek thought the jets were tickling him and wanted them to stay on. At the end of this video you can hear Zayne saying 'swim swim' as he was trying to swim in the bubbles.

Jingle Bells

So I know this is out of order, but it was too cute not to post right away. I have NO idea where Zayne learned this song other than on TV? He sure does love to sing! :) Happy Holidays from Zayne...

Zayne Turns 3

That morning when you asked Zayne how old he was he would tell you 'free'. By nap time if you asked him, he would say 'seben'. The next morning he claimed he was 'six'! I think he's a little confused on how birthdays work, but he was thrilled to have one.

After a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family, we were ready for some cake...and pumpkin/pecan pie.

'Disney Pixar Cars' is his favorite and made for one happy boy!

Can never get a picture of ALL of us looking at the camera, still not a bad picture...

He kept trying to take the cars off of the cake. As soon as he blew out the candles, he grabbed one.

Then came the presents....

Zayne was trying to make his new cars Geotrax run even while still in the box!

Malek (we always get the other kiddo a small gift) got a Hot Wheels racetrack that folds up for the hotel.

He got Cars 2 the movie, two remote control vehicles, and a Hot Wheels toy ....What a lucky boy!

I don't have a picture, but he also got a new Cars bike with training wheels. He also got the helmet and the bell to go with it. He was in HEAVEN with all of the toys and woke up early the next morning to play with more. Since we left for the hotel the day after, we brought a few presents with us so that it would really feel like a celebration. We left his bike at home so it will be fun when they are reunited.

Off to San Antonio...Trip 1

We made our first trip to San Antonio for a few days....

His bags were packed...he's ready to go!

Straight to the pool where Malek insisted that he put his own sunscreen on after lotioning up his bellybutton and one cheek! They didn't stay in long, half an hour and they had blue lips.

But they went in twice with lunch in between.

Zayne was so excited, it was his first bath solo since Malek took a shower. He kept calling it 'my simming pool' and pointing at the water.

Had to stop and pose by the giant pumpkins in the lobby. They couldn't get over all of the pumpkins and gourds in all the different colors that they hadn't seen before. They had to touch every one. hahaha

At night, they slept great. I put diapers on both of them because I know how exhausted they get and getting up to pee at night is easily forgotten.

They ate as well as they slept. Pancakes being a favorite for breakfast...

The view from our balcony. We spent plenty of time hanging out with a nice view.

And of course we had to check out Bassem's new office....and computer! hahaha

On Saturday, they started their new winter activities...

Which started off with an Animal Show. Zayne was front and center for all of it, he wasn't afraid of any of the animals and wanted to touch them all.

Even the snake....

In the evening, we visited Santa, went on a hayride, and went to the arcade to play some games. It was a wonderful trip!

Missed November

Well, with everything going on this month it seems that I missed an entire month of posting!  Oooops! So...here's some of what was missed. To start off the month, Bassem's father came to visit. The boys (especially Malek) were so excited that he bought a new iPad. Malek was showing him how to play games on it, so cute. We had a nice Eid with family and spent a lot of time together during his trip.

Halloween is coming...

So I thought I'd post pictures of Halloween's past to see how much they've grown!

Halloween 2009

Monkey and Dracula

Halloween 2010

Star Wars Trooper and Yoda

Preview: Halloween 2011

Batman and Robin

Traditional Lebanese Boys

This time of year has the 'costumes' out. We have had this adorable traditional Lebanese outfit for a year or two and have been waiting for the boys to grow into it and hoping that their school will have a day celebrating their heritage and that they would get to wear it. So...being that it's the 'costume' time of year, we thought we'd get it out and try it on!

The World's Best Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we visited the local pumpkin patch. It is a charity run organization that specializes in miniature horses for horse therapy. They have had over 30 horses donated to their farm and this is their annual fundraiser. This pumpkin patch is geared towards toddlers and preschoolers, so it was perfect for us. It starts with a hay ride to get from the parking area to the farm.

Waiting for the tractor to come for the hayride....We bought tickets and went STRAIGHT to the petting zoo!

They had 4 animals to pet. All of the petting zoos that we have been to only have goats and sheep. This one had a miniature horse, a baby cow, a pig so fat that her belly was dragging (hopefully she was pregnant), and a miniature donkey.

The boys were saying 'here donkey!' and 'here cow!'.

A picture is worth a thousand words, you can SEE Zayne's hands are showing his frustration because I used his 'cup' to show them how to feed the little horse.

At one point, Malek accidentally tickled the donkeys ear and the donkey leaned his head into him and pushed him out of the way. Malek was giggling because the 'donkey pushed me!'. He knew that he had tickled it and I think he was really entertained that it had moved so quickly but didn't knock him over.

Then onto the horse rides. I love that they were able to ride miniature horses because they were just the right size and no one was scared to ride a horse that was much too big for them! A volunteer leads them around the arena and back so they each got to ride for a few minutes.

 In this section, the kids could lead the miniature horse through a small obstacle course. It was like leading a dog on a leash....except the Girl Scout volunteer and the horse seemed to be leading the boys instead! Malek LOVED this part, he had to have two turns, one with each horse!

Somewhere along the way they got their faces painted. Malek had a snake put on his cheek and Zayne had a spider put on his.

Zayne really doesn't like loud noises, but wanted to ride the riding lawnmower pulled train. So he rode it with his hands over his ears! It goes around the cages and they were able to see chickens and bunnies on this path. 

 There was a little maze for kids to go through, of course they had to do it on 'horse'. It was their first time on stick horses and they were too busy playing that they were galloping around instead of trying to find their way through!

And finally...the pumpkins. They were donated and not grown on site so they had already been picked. Each of them picked out their own pumpkin that we took home. Not sure if we'll paint them or carve them yet.